Priority areas of work under the Platform for Action on the Green Recovery of Ukraine were discussed at the first meeting of the Steering Committee. Among the participants were representatives of UNEP, UNECE and OECD, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine for European Integration Yevhen Fedorenko, First Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Oleksii Sobolev.

“The creation of the Platform is a Ukrainian-German initiative. The idea of organising this international platform was first voiced by Steffi Lemke, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection of Germany, back in October 2023 during the conference ‘United for Justice. United for Nature’. In June 2024, the Platform was launched at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin. The relevant German Federal Ministry announced financial support for the Platform in the amount of EUR 5 million,” said Yevhen Fedorenko.

The Platform for Action on the Green Recovery of Ukraine is a platform where Ukrainian and international partners will accumulate knowledge and experience, best practices, and financial instruments for Ukraine’s green development. The platform will contribute to, rather than duplicate, existing international efforts and mechanisms to support Ukraine. It will work on a comprehensive development plan for the country, taking into account issues that are not covered by existing international agreements and instruments.

During the first meeting of the Steering Committee, the structure of the Matrix of Activities under the Platform was discussed. The Matrix is a document that will serve as a roadmap for joint work. It will include activities in the following areas: cross-sectoral issues; financial instruments; administrative capacity; sectoral issues (waste management, chemical safety, water, air, biodiversity, soil, etc.); investment cases; data collection and evaluation.

“We plan that in September, UNEP, UNECE and OECD, as implementing organisations, with the participation of the Steering Committee, will agree on the Platform’s work areas for the rest of the year. We also expect to hold the first stakeholder meeting in autumn to exchange views, present the Platform’s priorities and discuss them. The development of approaches to Ukraine’s recovery will also help prepare high-quality negotiating positions for Ukraine’s accession to the EU,” said Yevhen Fedorenko.